#02. How to leave academia (6 steps).

596 Words | 4 Minutes

January 2022, I decided to leave academia. In a few weeks, I had made a LinkedIn profile, converted my academic CV to a non-academic resume, and submitted ~60 applications to various non-academic jobs. I only got one offer. A 1% success rate.

Since that time, I’ve fixed all my mistakes and optimized my job search. The result?

Two applications. Two offers. A 100% success rate.

I used to think I was just “lucky." But it's more than luck. I have a strategy for succeeding on the non-academic job market. It’s not something you’ll learn from random blogs, coffee chats, and social media posts. It’s a strategy that works in 2024, not incorrect or pre-pandemic advice.

It’s a strategy from someone who has actually succeeded on the non-academic job market, multiple times, in the past two years. Someone who has spent 100s of hours learning about job searching. Someone who personally understands how hard this all feels…

Here's exactly what you need to do, in six simple steps:

01. Pick A Target Career.

Identify one non-academic career that you’d like to pursue. If you are still early in the career exploration stage of your job search, use these reflections and resources to make a list of 2-3 potential careers. Before you apply for jobs, you will need to pick one career to target, but for right now, you can make a short list.

02. Update Your LinkedIn.

You must translate your academic experience into business jargon. Remember, people outside of academia generally know nothing about academia - we PhDs are in a weird and special bubble :) You will continually update and refine your profile as you learn about your target career and create your personal brand.

03. Build Your Network.

Your first goal is to make 500+ connections on LinkedIn. If you already have 500 connections, keep going! It’s about quality connections, rather than quantity. The more quality connections you have, the more career opportunities will come your way. Networking isn't just done when you're looking for a job - you'll be networking throughout your career.

04. Write a Non-Academic Resume.

A non-academic resume is a completely different document than an academic CV (in some countries, non-academic resumes are also referred to as CVs). A resume is a short document tailored to the required skills in a specific job ad. Resume length and information included (e.g., list of publications) varies by target career - your network can guide you.

05. Choose a "Stand Out" Strategy.

Determine how you will “stand out” on the non-academic job market. Four strategies (from "least effort" to "most effort") are (1) tailoring your resume to a job ad (hint: you must do this), (2) getting a referral, (3) creating a portfolio, and (4) developing a personal brand. I recommend creating a personal brand and posting on LinkedIn - it’s how I landed my current job!

06. Prepare for Your Interviews.

Job offers don't go to the person who is most “qualified” for a job. They go to the person who shows that they are the most qualified (+ the person who wants the job more). You should have already started researching the company when you applied for the position. Now is your chance to dig even deeper, show your enthusiasm, and prove that you're a qualified, low-risk hire.

My strategy is simple. Good implementation is hard.

But once you've learned how to land that first non-academic job, every other job search is significantly easier. Trust me: I've had three non-academic jobs now. Everything that I've described so far is a learnable skill.

And if our PhDs taught us anything, it's how to learn - fast.

💛

P.S. - Want my help as you move through each of these steps? The next cohort of After Academia starts on Monday, March 11. Here's all the information, including the sign-up link.

Have questions? Respond to this e-mail, or come say hi tomorrow, Tuesday, March 5 @ 9am PST / 12pm EST - I'll be doing a live Q&A with Mark Bayer :)

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